Many medical applications require purified water and other fluids, for example, hemofiltration, tissue irrigation, and hemodiafiltration. Some prior art systems have focused on continuous purification processes that require a separate dfiltration/purification apparatus that must be periodically purged and verified to provide sufficient constant flow of sterile replacement fluid. (See Chavallet U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,039,877 and 5,702,597.) Such devices are necessarily complicated and require separate pumping systems for the purification process. In addition, the rate of supply of fluid for such systems is very high, requiring expensive filters to be used. The same high-rate problem exists for the generation of replacement fluid for hemofiltration, and therefore also requires expensive filtering apparatus.
Large and small scale inline systems are known for preparation of infusible fluids and for preparation of dialysate. The following prior art references discuss examples of such systems.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2004/0232079
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2003/0105435
U.S. Pat. No. 5,645,734
U.S. Pat. No. 5,782,762
U.S. Pat. No. 6,136,201
PURELAB Maxima, Ultra-Pure Water Purification Systems
Shipe, Brad; “The Case for UV in Dechlorination Applications,” Water Conditioning & Purification Magazine, January 2003, Vol. 45, No. 1